wedding dress: custom Lea-Ann Belter via Brides by the Falls | photographer: New Image Photography | scroll down for full vendor list
Our bride’s philosophy of maybe giving something you’re not sure about on paper a whirl applied to her wedding dress shopping, too. “I was dead set on a fitted, simplistic gown with no embellishment, and after trying a few of those on, I realized I was going down the wrong path. My grandmother and mother were both at the appointment, and my grandmother pulled the dress and suggested I try it on. I saw the lace and was not sure it was for me, but the minute I put the gown on I audibly gasped, and then laughed because, of course, it was not what I expected! I always say to my friends who are getting married that it is important to try on gowns and styles that you would not normally try on, because it just might be the one!”
Katie’s a professional opera singer, so music was a big part of their wedding day. In addition to walking down the aisle to the same music her mom had, her musician friends sang during their ceremony! “As a professional opera singer, I have a lot of friends who are musicians. I was lucky enough to be able to make a choir of singers, using all my friends from college and other parts of my life. During my wedding, all of my friends sang, and it was one of the most moving moments of my life. I will never forget that moment, and how beautiful it was to see all my friends singing together.”
Read more about their day—including about their first dance which they forgot to practice and some great planning advice—from our talented bride below.
Any special ways you incorporated your family or family history into your wedding day?
“I had a traditional Catholic wedding which inherently included a lot of traditions that my parents and grandparents had on their wedding days. I wanted to include a lot of music because I am a musician so it made sense to choose sentimental music. I ended up picking the same music my mom had for walking down the aisle! Music is an incredibly important part of my life and my career as an opera singer would have never happened if my grandparents and parents didn’t expose me to music at such a young age! So, it seemed fitting that the music reflected that part of my life.”
Tell us about your day!
“We both decided to privately write our own vows to each other. We both wrote each other letters and delivered them to each other the night before the wedding and read them separately the morning of the big day. It was such a beautiful way to start our wedding day, and it gave me some alone time to reflect before the chaos of getting ready! On a more realistic note, we absolutely loved having a sweetheart table. Sitting at dinner alone was probably the first time we had any one-on-one time the entire day, and it was an awesome moment to just sit and eat together. We also had speeches going on throughout dinner, so we were able to actually sit and eat because everyone had to sit and listen to the speeches. Weddings are like a marathon, and it can be super exhausting so finding moments of quiet can be hugely helpful!”
What was the funniest moment of your day?
“Things will inherently go wrong on the day of the wedding or leading up to the wedding. But those things can also be some of the funniest moments, too! My husband and I forgot to practice our first dance leading up to the wedding, which was a huge mistake! He is not the best dancer and definitely needed more practice so when we did our first dance, I kept whispering the moves to him so he wouldn’t forget! It was hilarious, and he ended up doing a wonderful job! I was also shocked at how often I cried, and kept laughing at myself, every time I cried… It was chaotic.”
What part of your wedding day was most important to you?
“As a professional opera singer, I have a lot of friends who are musicians. I was lucky enough to be able to make a choir of singers, using all my friends from college and other parts of my life. During my wedding, all of my friends sang, and it was one of the most moving moments of my life. I will never forget that moment, and how beautiful it was to see all my friends singing together.”
Any tips for couples getting married?
“Be prepared for things to go wrong and for unexpected moments. Letting go of control is incredibly freeing and will allow you to enjoy the moment! At the end of the day, the point of the wedding is to marry the person you love more than anything in the world. Everything tends to fall into place. Something that worked for me and my husband was making a list of our top priorities and identifying what parts of the wedding were most important to us—that gave us freedom to go with the flow for a lot of other parts of the planning process.”
Katie + Karl’s Cleveland Wedding Vendors
wedding dress: custom Lea-Ann Belter via Brides by the Falls | photographer: New Image Photography | hair and makeup: Beauty By Brittany Vojack
